Marine Drugs, Volume 19, Issue 1

Brown alga Bifurcaria bifurcata is an extraordinarily rich source of linear (acylic) diterpenes with enormous structural diversity. As part of our interest into secondary metabolites of the Irish seaweeds, here we report four new acyclic diterpenes (...

β-galactosidases (EC 3.2.1.23) catalyze the hydrolysis of β-galactosidic bonds in oligosaccharides and, under certain conditions, transfer a sugar moiety from a glycosyl donor to an acceptor. Cold-active β-galactosidases are identified in microorgani...

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists have been found to be effective to inhibit morphine dependence. However, the discovery of the selective antagonist for NMDAR GluN2B with low side-effects still remains challenging. In the present stud...

Several polyclad flatworm species are known to contain high levels of tetrodotoxin (TTX), but currently TTX-bearing flatworms seem to be restricted to specific Planocera lineages belonging to the suborder Acotylea. During our ongoing study of flatwor...

Patients diagnosed with basal-like breast cancer suffer from poor prognosis and limited treatment options. There is an urgent need to identify new targets that can benefit patients with basal-like and claudin-low (BL-CL) breast cancers. We screened f...

Arthritis is a widespread inflammatory disease associated with progressive articular surface degradation, ongoing pain, and hyperalgesia causing the development of functional limitations and disability. TRPV1 channel is one of the high-potential targ...

Marine organisms with fast growth rates and great biological adaptive capacity might have biotechnological interests, since ecological competitiveness might rely on enhanced physiological or biochemical processes’ capability promoting protectio...

Chemical investigation of a Red Sea Spongia sp. led to the isolation of four new compounds, i.e., 17-dehydroxysponalactone (1), a carboxylic acid, spongiafuranic acid A (2), one hydroxamic acid, spongiafuranohydroxamic acid A (3), and a furanyl trino...

In the present study, chitosan (CS) and pectin (PEC) were utilized for the preparation of 3D printable inks through pneumatic extrusion for biomedical applications. CS is a polysaccharide with beneficial properties; however, its printing behavior is...

Phlorotannins are polyphenols occurring exclusively in some species of brown algae, known for numerous biological activities, e.g., antioxidant, antiproliferative, antidiabetic, and antiallergic properties. Their effects on the response of human lung...

Analysis of the air-dried marine red alga Laurencia papillosa, collected near Ras-Bakr at the Suez gulf (Red Sea) in Egypt delivered five new halogenated terpene derivatives: aplysiolic acid (1), 7-acetyl-aplysiol (2), aplysiol-7-one (3), 11,14-dihyd...

Most marine biotoxins are produced by microalgae. The neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) has been reported in many seafood species worldwide but its source is unknown, making accumulation and depuration studies in shellfish difficult. Tetrodotoxin is a wa...

As Yondelis joins the ranks of approved anti-cancer drugs, the benefit from exploring the oceans’ biodiversity becomes clear. From marine toxins, relevant bioproducts can be obtained due to their potential to interfere with specific pathways. W...

Seven new deoxyisoaustamide derivatives (1–7) together with known compounds (8–10) were isolated from the coral-derived fungus Penicillium dimorphosporum KMM 4689. Their structures were established using spectroscopic methods, X-ray diffr...

Bafilomycin A₁ is the representative compound of the plecomacrolide natural product family. This 16-membered ring plecomacrolide has potent antifungal and vacuolar H⁺-ATPase inhibitory activities. In our previous work, we identified a bafilomycin bio...

Fucoidans are complex polysaccharides derived from brown seaweeds which consist of considerable proportions of L-fucose and other monosaccharides, and sulphated ester residues. The search for novel and natural bioproduct drugs (due to toxicity issues...

Microalgae are at the start of the food chain, and many are known producers of a significant amount of lipids with essential fatty acids. However, the bioactivity of microalgal lipids for anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic activities have rarely be...

This study presents a meta-analysis of studies that investigate the effectiveness of chitosan administration on lifestyle-related disease in murine models. A total of 34 published studies were used to evaluate the effect of chitosan supplementation....

Marine sponges are exceptionally prolific sources of natural products for the discovery and development of new drugs. Until now, sponges have contributed around 30% of all natural metabolites isolated from the marine environment. Family Latrunculiida...

Fish pathogens causing disease outbreaks represent a major threat to aquaculture industry and food security. The aim of the presented study is to develop safe and effective bioactive agents against two bacterial isolates: Aeromonas hydrophila and Pse...

Okadaic acid (OA) and its main structural analogs dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1) and dinophysistoxin-2 (DTX2) are marine lipophilic phycotoxins distributed worldwide that can be accumulated by edible shellfish and can cause diarrheic shellfish poisoning (D...

Marine habitats offer a rich reservoir of new bioactive compounds with great pharmaceutical potential; the variety of these molecules is unique, and its production is favored by the chemical and physical conditions of the sea. It is known that marine...

Three new and rare chromone derivatives, epiremisporine C (1), epiremisporine D (2), and epiremisporine E (3), were isolated from marine-derived Penicillium citrinum, together with four known compounds, epiremisporine B (4), penicitrinone A (5), 8-hy...

Microbial natural products are important for the understanding of microbial interactions, chemical defense and communication, and have also served as an inspirational source for numerous pharmaceutical drugs. Tropical marine cyanobacteria have been h...

The high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with diode array and mass spectrometric detector (HPLC-DAD-MS) method for quinonoid pigment identification and quantification in sea urchin samples was developed and validated. The composition...

Biofilms are surface-attached multicellular communities that play critical roles in inducing biofouling and biocorrosion in the marine environment. Given the serious economic losses and problems caused by biofouling and biocorrosion, effective biofil...

Cyanobacteria are a rich source of secondary metabolites with a vast biotechnological potential. These compounds have intrigued the scientific community due their uniqueness and diversity, which is guaranteed by a rich enzymatic apparatus. The riboso...

In the last 10 years, a great number of publications (both regular papers and reviews) have been published on the interesting molecules—mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). Despite significant advances in the research of MAAs, current overviews...

Although Psychrobacter strain M9-54-1 had been previously isolated from the microbiota of holothurians and shown to degrade quorum sensing (QS) signal molecules C6 and C10-homoserine lactone (HSL), little was known about the gene responsible for this...

Sessile organisms such as seaweeds, corals, and sponges continuously adapt to both abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem. This extremely complex and dynamic process often results in different forms of competition to ensure the maintenance of...

Red yeasts of the genus Rhodotorula are of great interest to the biotechnological industry due to their ability to produce valuable natural products, such as lipids and carotenoids with potential applications as surfactants, food additives, and pharm...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease with a prevalence rate of up to 1% and is significantly considered a common worldwide public health concern. Commercially, several traditional formulations are available to treat RA...

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents the deadliest form of gynecological tumors currently lacking targeted therapies. The ethanol extract of the North Pacific brittle star Ophiura sarsii presented promising anti-TNBC activities. After elim...

The latest research has indicated that anti-tumor agents with COX-2 inhibitory activity may benefit their anti-tumor efficiency. A series of sclerotiorin derivatives have been synthesized and screened for their cytotoxic activity against human lung c...

Four polyene macrolactams including the previously reported niizalactam C (4), and three new ones, streptolactams A–C (1–3) with a 26-membered monocyclic, [4,6,20]-fused tricyclic and 11,23-oxygen bridged [14,16]-bicyclic skeletons, respe...

Three new phenylhydrazones, penoxahydrazones A–C (compounds 1–3), and two new quinazolines, penoxazolones A (compound 4) and B (compound 5), with unique linkages were isolated from the fungus Penicillium oxalicum obtained from the deep se...

Chemical investigation of the marine soft coral Sarcophyton tenuispiculatum resulted in the isolation of a 1,4-dihydrobenzoquinone, sarcotenuhydroquinone (1), three new cembranoids, sarcotenusenes A‒C (2‒4), and ten previously reported metabolites 5&...

Compromised lung function is a feature of both infection driven and non-infective pathologies. Viral infections—including the current pandemic strain SARS-CoV-2—that affect lung function can cause both acute and long-term chronic damage....

Over the last decades, antifouling coatings containing biocidal compounds as active ingredients were used to prevent biofouling, and eco-friendly alternatives are needed. Previous research from our group showed that polymethoxylated chalcones and gly...

This study aims to isolate and identify the structure of antibacterial compounds having potent activity on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from marine actinomycetes, and also to identify their mode of action. Lactoquinomycin A (LQM...

It is widely accepted that the commensal gut microbiota contributes to the health and well-being of its host. The solitary tunicate Ciona intestinalis emerges as a model organism for studying host–microbe interactions taking place in the gut, h...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive eye disease that causes irreversible impairment of central vision, and effective treatment is not yet available. Extracellular accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) in drusen that lie under the...

Six new bis(indole) alkaloids (1–6) along with eight known ones of the topsentin class were isolated from a Spongosorites sp. sponge of Korea. Based on the results of combined spectroscopic analyses, the structures of spongosoritins A–D (...

Inflammation and oxidative stress are part of the complex biological responses of body tissues to harmful stimuli. In recent years, due to the increased understanding that oxidative stress is implicated in several diseases, pharmaceutical industries...